Parish Office (863) 453-4757 Fax (863) 453-2620 17th Sunday in Ordinary Times July 29, 2018 Parish Office Hours Monday through Friday 9 AM to 2:30 PM Pastor Fr. Nicholas McLoughlin Assisting Clergy Fr. Gerald Grogan Pastor Emeritus Fr. Leo Frechette Deacon Fred Simon Dan Hoppe Enroll your children in the School of Religion. Let the little children There is a hunger, even in the youngest of hearts, for come a relationship to me and with do Jesus the not hinder them Bread of Life. Schedule of Masses Saturday Confession 3:30 PM English 6:30 PM Spanish Vigil Mass 4 PM English 7 PM Spanish Sunday 8 AM and 10:30 AM Holy Days Vigil Mass 5:30 PM 8 & 10:30 AM Daily Mass Monday-Friday 8 AM First Friday Mass and Holy Hour 8 AM Visit us on the web! www.ologap.org Enroll your children in the School of Relgion. There is a hunger, even in the youngest of hearts, for a relationship with Jesus the Bread of Life.
Page 2 Our Lady of Grace Dear parishioners: In today s Gospel Jesus faces a crisis of his own: how to feed 5,000 people at the end of a long tiring day, a crisis not unlike the ones so many face in our own time. The first question today s Gospel (John 6: 1-15) poses is: Why did Jesus multiply five barley loaves and a couple of dried fish (John 6: 8) for more than 5,000 people? John does not tell us why. Mark does. When Jesus saw the great throng, he had compassion on them (Mark 6:34). Jesus showed solidarity with his tired and hungry listeners; He had compassion. On who? On the sick, the leper, two blind men, a father and his epileptic boy, a mother who had lost her only son, crowds that were helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Mt 9: 38). John s Gospel tells us that the disciples did not understand about the loaves (Mk 6: 52). What did they fail to understand? Let me try to explain. Over a period of time, as they reflected on the story of the loaves and fishes and the Last Supper, they began to see close parallels in gesture and wording between the multiplication of the loaves and the Last Supper. Listen to what the Gospels say about the multiplication of loaves: Jesus took the loaves and, looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and blessed them; he broke them, gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied. John and Mark use the four code words which Jesus uses at the institution of the Eucharist: He took, He blessed, He broke, and He gave. Now the multiplication of loaves was not the Eucharist. But the Gospels see the multiplication of loaves as a sign pointing to the Eucharist, which will satisfy just as great and deep a human hunger, a spiritual hunger. The multiplication of loaves and fish looked forward to the Last Supper and all subsequent suppers, when Christ would feed his sisters and brothers with the food that gives everlasting life, food that is his own flesh and blood. What is the relationship between solidarity/compassion and the Eucharist? The Eucharist is not a private party of Lone Rangers. It is a community celebration of concerned believers. The Eucharist must move us from Church to world, thrust us out to the hungers of the human family just as Jesus fed the 5,000 and then celebrated the Eucharist. The Eucharist changes us into the one we have received as St. Paul makes clear, It is no longer I who live, Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20). You are intimately united to Christ and are called to a new way of living. Each time you leave Church at the end of Mass, you re-enter a paradoxical world; unbelief lives side by side with belief. Like Jesus, we need solidarity and compassion rather than condemnation; outreach to give people in need a hand-up rather than a hand-out through ministries like the Church Service Center, Samaritan Touch, Habitat for Humanity, the Boys and Girls club, Meals-on-Wheels so that we can move from being fed by Jesus in the Eucharist to feeding him in the market place in those who are in need I was hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, in prison and you took care of me. When? As long as you did it to one of these least ones, you did it to me. (Mt: 25). The Mass begins when we leave Church. Father Nick.
17th Sunday in Ordinary Times Page 3 Church Service Center Collection, Sept. 1/2 Next weekend, September 1 & 2, we encourage you to bring non-perishable food to Church at the weekend masses for the CSC. It cares for approximately 600 families every month, representing anywhere between 1,200 to 1,500 poor people in Avon Park. We will also take a second collection to assist those who come to the CSC with electric and water bills and with rent and mortgage payments. Thank you. 1 st Friday Mass 8 a.m. & Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 8:30 9:00 a.m. Friday, September 7, is the First Friday of the month. The 8 a.m. mass will be followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, which will conclude with Benediction at 9 a.m. The practice of Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament goes back to the Last Supper. After Jesus had finished the Last Supper, he went to the Garden of Gethsemane with his inner circle, the first leaders of the Church, Peter, James and John. He asked them to watch with him, while he prayed alone in the Garden. He returned to find them asleep. He chided them, Could you not watch one hour with me? Jesus invites us to pray with him after we receive the Eucharist in the period of Exposition, immediately after we celebrate Mass. Collection of General Mills Box tops for St. Catherine Catholic Grade School, Sept. 1/2 You know the adage by Michelangelo that trifles make perfection but perfection is no trifle. You have an example of what he means by that statement on the first Sunday of every month when we ask you to bring something as simple as General Mills Box Tops to Church for St. Catherine Catholic Grade School, grades PreK 7. The School receives a dime for every Box top we bring. Imagine if every family in the Parish brought their Box Tops for the month, St. Catherine s would receive thousands of Box Tops for which it would receive a dime for every box top. The School uses the proceeds from the Box Tops to acquire supplies for the classrooms. You should drop the Box Tops off at the Main entrance to the Church in a Box which is placed there for that purpose. Now you know what Michelangelo meant by his statement, Trifles make perfection but perfection is no Trifle. Let s not throw away the General Mills Box tops or put them in the garbage collection. By bringing them to Church and dropping them off in a Box for that purpose at the Main entrance to the Church, you are supplying needed supplies for St. Catherine s school.
Page 4 Our Lady of Grace Wednesday, August 22nd, 5 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 29 th, 5 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept 5th, 5 to 8:30 p.m. No Registration Labor weekend, Sept. 1-2 Registration Sarah MacDonald Education Building For Information, Call (863)453-7537 Go to website: www.ologap.org check Religious Education Registration forms. You can download registration forms. The Future Starts today not tomorrow Saint John Paul II Registration for school of Religion Classes Begin Parents can register their children for the Sunday School of Religion on the following dates and times: Saturday, August 18th, 5 7 p.m. Sun, August 19 th, 9 10:15 & 11:30 a.m. Saturday, August 25th, 5 7 p.m. Sun, Aug 26th, after 8 & 10:30 a.m. Sat, Sept 8th 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept 9th, for grades K - 5, 9 to 10:20 a.m. Wednesday, Sept 12th, for grades 6, 7, 8th & Confirmation Class & Bible study Catechetical Sunday, Sept 16 th, 10:30 a.m. We are very blessed to have a very gifted school of religion faculty for the 2018-2019 school year. You will have an opportunity to get to know them at the 10:30 a.m. Mass on Catechetical Sunday, September 16th, at which mass they will be commissioned. Keep them in your prayers. First Family Mass, Sunday, October 7th, 10:30 a.m.
17th Sunday in Ordinary Times Page 5 We invite and encourage parents to enroll their children in the Church s Catechetical Program The School of Religion What Does the Word Catechetical Mean? The word might be more familiar than you think. Many Catholics have used the word "catechism" for years, and they know it has something to do with the compendium of the Church's teachings. The root word, "catechesis," is from a Greek word meaning "to echo, or resound." Catechesis is the act of resounding or bringing the Church's teachings to the world. A catechist is one who teaches in the name of the Church. Catechesis is a distinct and special ministry in the Church. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church makes clear, Catechesis is intimately bound up with the whole of the Church s life... her inner growth and correspondence with God s plan depend essentially on catechesis (no. 7). This ministry of teaching in the name of the Church has a profound dignity, which is why catechists are formally commissioned by the Church. It is only fitting that we set aside a day to highlight this ministry and invite the entire church community to think about our responsibility to share our faith with others How are parents, the primary catechists of their children, recognized on Catechetical Sunday? 1Parents are truly the primary catechists of their children. They prepare the soil and plant the first seeds of faith. On Catechetical Sunday, we not only highlight the work of catechists in parishes and schools, but we also commend parents and guardians and encourage them to take seriously their role of making their Catholic households a place where faith is passed on to the next generation. This is why the rite of blessing of catechists used on Catechetical Sunday includes an optional blessing of parents and guardians. It is important that we pray for parents that they hand on the faith, especially by praying with their children, aware that the family that prays together stays together.
Page 6 MASS INTENTIONS SATURDAY JULY 28 4:00 pm + Ruth Packer by Mike & Mary Basile. + Annie Kozak by Husband. 7:00 pm Para los Fieles Difantos by Marisol Chaves. SUNDAY JULY 29 8:00 am + Joe Fedora by Rhonda Beckman. 10:30 am + Stanley Repa Sr. & Mary Repa by Cindy & Scott Maxon. MONDAY JULY 30 8:00 am + Victor Diaz by Jose & Zoraida Rodriguez. TUESDAY JULY 31 8:00 am Special Intention for Roche Family by Neal Roche WED AUGUST 1 8:00 am + Andy Oliver by Joe & Bev Borowski. THURSDAY AUGUST 2 8:00 am Frank Borowski by Joe & Bev Borowski. FRIDAY A AUGUST 3 8:00 am Joan Roche by Neal Roche. SATURDAY AUGUST 4 8:00 am For the Benefactors of the parish Benefactors of the Parish, Sarah McDonald, Francis & Audrey Peffer, Orlando Nardone, Maria Guerrero, Mary Litwinski, Norma George, Fred Bruno, Loumella Faust, Paul Brazenski, Donald McCormack, Lester Reinbolt, and John Lacenski, Patricia Borst. Mrs. Lane. Bill & Mary Ann Patterson, William LaPeer. 4:00 pm +David Swiston by Anna Hartsfield. Special Intention for Mary & Alan Powell 7:00 pm + Crecenciana Enriquez by Sylvia Ramirez. SUNDAY AUGUST 5 8:00 am + David Getz by David Pfiester. 10:30 am + Sarah Adams by Nathan Adams. Our Lady of Grace Glenna Thompson Gregory Syfert J.R. Lejeune Wayne Overton Gerald Martin Jade Jackson Mary A. Lackey Andres Clavijo Lise Sevigny Bruno Litwinski Patty Meegan And for those who care for the sick, for the deceased member s and benefactors of the parish, and for our loved ones. SPANISH PRAYER MEETING The Adult Spanish Prayer meeting is held in the Youth Center on Friday at 7:00 pm. REUNIÓN DEL GRUPO DE ORACIÓN HISPANO. El grupo de oración para adultos en español se reúne los viernes a las 7:00pm en el Centro juvenil..religious EDUCATION TEACHERS Can you Help? Would you be willing to share your faith with our students for upcoming fall classes? Please call Angie at 863-453-7537. SAFE ENVIRONMENT CLASSES Safe Environment classes are scheduled for Thursday August 9 from 6:30 to 8:30 and on Saturday August 11 from9:30 to 11:30 at St Catherine s in Sebring. All attendees must be preregistered. Call the parish office to register at 453-4757. Safe environment classes are required by the Diocese of Venice for anyone working with children or vulnerable adults. FOR THE SICK OF THE PARISH Claudette Laverriere John Minadeo Patricia Martin
Staff & Ministries Administrative Assistant Betty Heiring betty.heiring@ologap.org Religious Education Judy Nugent Angie Heiring angie.heiring@ologap.org (863) 453-7537 Music Gene Ryan mee@generyan.com Associate Youth Director Angie Heiring (863) 453-7537 Prayer Group Kevin Murphy Women s Guild Debbie Augusta - President (863) 385-8872 Respect Life Dick & Marie Carlson (863) 471-2134 Parish Council President Judy Pounds Vice President Piedad Sarmiento- Noriega Secretary Judy Nugent Members Debbie Augusta Maureen Cool Darlyne Devany John Paul Heston Jim McGann Karen Hecker Tina Starling Teresa Torres John Wolbert Why should you register your children for the School of Religion? Classes begin: Grades K 5, Sunday, September 9, 9 10:20 a.m. Grades 6 12, Wednesday, September 12th, 6:30 8:30 p.m. Registration forms on tables at church all exits Download registration forms from Parish Website ologap.org Or, call Angie (863)453-7537.